The subject matter disclosed herein relates to actuators and, in particular, to a high temperature electromagnetic actuator.
A linear actuator is an actuator that creates motion in a straight line, in contrast to the circular motion of a conventional electric motor. Linear actuators are used in machine tools and industrial machinery valves and dampers, and in many other places where linear motion is required. Further example applications included use in turbine engines, e.g., more electric engine (MEE) for aircraft, combustion engines for ship propulsion, and combustion engines for road vehicles. In turbine engines and combustion engines high temperature actuators can be used for valves for air and fuel distribution.
An electromagnetic actuator is an electromechanical energy conversion device, which converts the electrical energy into mechanical energy of short-distance linear motion.
There are several manners in which an actuator can be formed. One is to convert a rotary motion in to a linear motion. Another is to apply a current to a winding surrounding a permanent magnet. Application of a current causes the magnet to move and this motion, in turn, causes a plunger attached to the magnet to move and deliver linear motion.
In some cases, however, use a permanent magnet may be prohibited when the actuator is located in high temperature (e.g., T>650° C.) environments.